Isolation Tanks : The Mechanics of Float Tank Therapy

An isolation tank as it was known when it first made its debut in the 60s is what we these days refer to as a floatation tank that is used for the restricted environment stimulation technique (REST) or generally referred to as floatation therapy. This therapy has been around for half a century and although it was not actually a ‘therapy’ back in the 60s, as it was more of a ‘hippy indulgence’ more than anything else, its impact on individuals is the reason behind it currently being acknowledged as a therapy.

The mechanics or theoretical construct behind floatation therapy is anything but a mystery. The logic behind floatation therapy is in fact based on a simple but solid scientifically proven construct that revolves around providing the human brain and its enormous raw processing power a brief relief from contending with external stimuli by actually removing them using a float tank. A properly constructed and configured float tank or float pod, would be able to effectively eliminate the effects of gravity from our minds along with sight, sound, smell and temperature differences.

As common and normal as these external stimuli are, the true fact is that these elements gobble up so much brain processing power that they are the primary vectors for evolutionary changes and due to this the brain is constantly preoccupied with them as they are the vectors that also bring in vital information about the dangers that we will face. This in turn triggers our fight or flight response system which is usually in a state of constant alert causing stress related chemical to be produced such as cortisol and adrenaline that heightens our sensitivity that ‘overcooks’ situations to a point where it becomes impractical to follow suit.

Apart from that, our brain also needs to constantly be able to gauge force required in relation to our motor functions (e.g. how much force is needed to move a box filled with books, how much energy is needed to lift each foot as we stagger up a flight of stairs or how much force to use to push down a bike paddle when we are cycling), these normal functions that our brain processes within nanoseconds would take a dozen super computers a week to process.

So imagine all this ‘noise’ is removed from our environment, the brain would practically be left in peace allowing to drift into a deep meditative like state that scientists refer to as ‘deep relaxation’ when the subconscious dimensions awake and go about doing what they do best – fix us internally. This means that during a floatation therapy session we are basically at the point of R.E.M sleep and the brain gradually bring processing down to ultralow frequencies that are commonly only achieved by those who have been meditating for years.

In this state the brain starts to turn its attention to our internal biological balances that is the cornerstone of our overall health. Based on the fact that 99.9% of all the people around us are unable to achieve that kind of meditative state the only other method of getting there is via an isolation tank or a sensory deprivation tank as some call it whereby the floating individual is able to reach that state of mind within minutes.

Once we are on this ‘mind platform’ our brain directs the calibration of our biology by readjusting and balancing the production levels of important chemicals which include endorphins, dopamine, cortisol and adrenaline which when are imbalanced, open the floodgates to a horde of unwanted ailments that could eventually progress to a level where it makes an impact on the quality of our lives.

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